Exposure to asbestos is the number one cause of Mesothelioma. Many doctors recommend mesothelioma surgery to remove the main tumor and any nearby tissues if they should happen to contain cancer cells as well

The trouble with mesothelioma is that it does not normally show up in patients for anywhere from 30 to 40 years after exposure to asbestos. Asbestos is the leading cause of this type of cancer and a person may have breathed in the microfiber particles or swallowed them without realizing that anything has occurred.

There are many mesothelioma treatment options available and some physicians prefer to combine mesothelioma surgery with chemotherapy or radiation. They do this in an attempt to remove or reduce the tumor so that any further growth can be interrupted.

In addition to surgery, doctors may perform a procedure called thoracentesis which drains fluid that has been built up around the lungs causing pain as well as difficulty in breathing for patients. If the mesothelioma is located near the abdominal area then the fluid is removed with a needle in a method called paracentesis.

Experts claim that the peak before mesothelioma has not yet been seen and some claim that one in every 100 men born in the 1940s will die of mesothelioma. As staggering as this statistic may be the medical industry is continuing to research in an attempt to find successful mesothelioma surgery options for patients diagnosed.

Many patients opt for surgery in an attempt to alleviate pain that comes with the pressure from the tumor and the scar tissue that built up due to the body's immune system making the attempt to rid itself of these asbestos microparticles.

It is said that while no surgery will cure mesothelioma, it will offer some relief of the pain and suffering for the victim of this incurable cancer. There are some who say that once mesothelioma is taken over a person's body there is nothing that can be done to stop it. The good news is that the disease normally attracts one long before the other which gives physicians time to try different procedures including removing part of the infected lung.

Patients who are diagnosed with mesothelioma in its earliest stages may opt for extrapleural pneumonectomy, which is a type of mesothelioma surgery involving the total removal of the mining around the lungs, heart, and diaphragm. This surgery must be performed on a relatively healthy patient and is also accompanied by radiation and chemotherapy. It is said that this procedure may extend the life of a patient by a few more years, one year of which will be used up in recovery.

Mesothelioma surgery is very expensive and is normally used as a last resort. Most insurance companies are not willing to pay the full cost of these procedures leaving patients with unimaginable choices for themselves and for their families. This is the time when many patients decide to consult with attorneys to determine exactly what their legal rights are if they have been exposed to asbestos in the workplace